It may not be what it used to be, but between Rivington, Southside, Rudy's, and the back room at the GC on 14th, I think NY still makes a good showing if you want vintage gear.

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In my experience, shops like Rivington and Southside mainly deal in stuff like mid-60s Offsets, 70s Les Pauls & Strats, Les Paul Jrs, etc., with the occasional pre-CBS Fender that’s been refinished and / or routed out. Not that that’s a bad thing, but by the OP’s tone, I got the impression that he was looking for a real deal no-nonsense pre-CBS Strat.

With Mandolin Bros gone, if i we’re going to go anywhere in NYC for such an instrument, it’d probably be Retrofret or Rudy’s, but there’s certainly no guarantees that either would have that kind of thing in hand at any given time (there are definitely shops in the US that would).

In my experience, shops like Rivington and Southside mainly deal in stuff like mid-60s Offsets, 70s Les Pauls & Strats, Les Paul Jrs, etc., with the occasional pre-CBS Fender that’s been refinished and / or routed out. Not that that’s a bad thing, but by the OP’s tone, I got the impression that he was looking for a real deal no-nonsense pre-CBS Strat.

Seemed to me that I saw a lot more vintage fender in California than I've seen in other cities. Amps and guitars. Made sense to me, as fender kinda catered to the west coast sounds for the first decade or three, plus that's where they've always built them. Haven't been to Nashville though, so I could be wrong.

Los Angeles. Norman's Rare Guitars in Reseda. You can talk to Norm or Mark on the phone about their inventory, and if you can afford the time and the money you might want to come to LA and hang out at the shop for a few hours trying and comparing guitars to decide on what you like. The price might be high and it might also be negotiable to a degree, but you will have a choice of fine vintage instruments and you will get what you want.

I've done business with both Southside and Retrofret, and highly recommend both.
Remember that a phone call will generally generate a healthier transaction.
Also look into Austin, Tx and San Francisco areas.

Even gear in my category is a joke in terms of pricing.....used R7's and plain top R8's start at $4500 and R9's even higher. I've seen some prices on 70's stuff that'd make you **** your pants when compared to the market at large. Once in a while you find something priced at fair market but when you do you better buy it ASAP 'cause normal prices fly off the shelves here.

You have to understand that when you look at the parking lot at Gruhn's/Carter's/RumbleSeat etc so many of those plates are out of state and many of those folks traveled here with change to spare fully intent on buying a guitar. This town is a guitar tourist trap if there ever was one.

If I were you I'd hit guitar shows first and foremost then get to know a few vintage dealers around the country, lots of good guys out there which will hook you up with bonafide gear at fair value. When you save 5 grand on that '63 strat that amount of money could do a lot of good elsewhere while you still get to live the dream!